Share:

Board Game Review: Rage of the Trolls

You might’ve noticed we’ve begun to add a lot of new features here at The Weekly Spoon. Some of these things include conventions and board games! Board game reviews will be structured a little differently and are intended to be succinct enough to give you a good idea if you’d like to buy the game yourself.

< 5 = poor concept and execution
5 = the game is average, nothing you haven’t seen before (all games start this tier!)
6 = the game presents some new twists and is a bit better than your average
7 = the game is pretty unique but it works
8 = it was impressive
9 = yes absolutely
10 = this is an extremely rare rating, it would mean the game has absolutely no problems which is generally not true for anything

For this particular set of reviews, copies of the game were provided by the developers for review. All opinions here are my own and not in any way sponsored or paid for by the developer.

Overview

Rage of Trolls is a competitive card game based in the Gruff universe of card games. It is a game for 1-2 players and no knowledge of Gruff is necessary to play. The idea is that it is a self contained competitive card game. You do not need to buy any extra decks or sets to play a full and complete game. The basics of the game are that you are a shepherd with a herd of “gruffs” trying to fight a troll. The troll gets its own turns, deck, moves, etc. In a two player game, you are working with the other shepherd to take down the troll. In a solo game, you are fighting against the troll alone.

Packaging – 8

This is an exceptionally nice box. Sure, it’s just a card game, but this is a very sturdy beautiful box. The cards are packaged in it very snugly. I think it’s a very innovative way to store a game like this. At worse, I might have some trouble keeping the lid on if I tilt it so… I just don’t tilt it.

Design – 8

The game is really beautiful. The cards are a great quality, the artwork is amazing. Cards are easy to read once you know where everything is. I’m not a fan of keeping track of scores with the little plastic things, but in most instances it didn’t inhibit me from being able to use the cards properly. You can tell a lot of care was put into producing this set. I have no doubts that the other Gruff sets prove to be of equally high quality. These are definitely things you would feel okay not sleeving (though for a competitive game, I can understand why you’d want to!)

Approachability – 6/7

This one was a bit hard for me to score. I’m not very familiar with competitive card games, so when I reviewed this game I did so with a friend who was. It took a little bit, but when I would mention something in the rules I was confused about, my friend could give me a point to relate it to and make sense of it. So if you aren’t familiar with games like this (where the cards have a lot of stats) it might take you a bit to get set up. The rulebook that comes with the game can fit in the palm of my hand and I’d say it’s about 20-30 pages? There is a lot of vocabulary to learn, but thankfully the creator color coded everything. It took us around 45 minutes to just set up and learn how to play, but once we got into it it went smoothly. As a final comment I’d say, if you’re more familiar with these types of games, you will probably have a much easier time than a total newb like myself.

Replayability – 7/8

Again I deferred to my friend on this one. Disclaimer is that he was so excited by the concept that he immediately went and bought a whole set of his own after we played this version. So I’d say if you like this game, you will want to play it and test all the gruff herd combinations you possibly can. There is definitely a lot of room to make a really fun team and have different adventures every time. It’s a very in depth strategy game. You really have to think out every move because if you’re not careful, the troll will get you.

Enjoyment – 7/8

Despite being really unfamiliar with competitive card games, I really enjoyed this one. Once I got my bearings, I had a lot of fun strategizing different things I could try to do. There are a lot of options. I think it’s a pretty unique experience. Personally I’ve never seen anything like it. A self contained competitive card game is extremely appealing for those who perhaps don’t want to have to purchase hundreds of little decks or packets with no guarantee of the quality they’re getting.

Score: 7.5

Rage of the Trolls is a great competitive strategy card game. It has a bit of a barrier to entry but turns into a great experience with the right group. Would recommend some competitive card game experience prior to beginning. Definitely on the more serious side of games.

Rage of the Trolls is not yet available for retail, you can learn more about the game here!